societies in the world.

Too bad Dungar Singh and Babu Lal got in the way of the promised land of economic advancement on the back of the inevitable ill-gotten gains and social status that are the real attraction of government service not just for Colonel (Retd) Kirori Singh Bainsla and his men but for every political leader with a credible vote bank to his credit. Had the hapless constables been given a chance to explain to the mob the reality of this promised land, would they have been spared? I doubt it.

It is to the credit of the Government of Rajasthan that in the aftermath of the agitation they have deviated from the script in such incidents. Normally what happens when the police opens fire on a violent mob? At the very least the station officer of the area and in some cases the DSP will be suspended, a case of murder would be registered against the SHO and his men who had fired on the spot for killing innocent civilians, compensation in cash and kind to the victims of police firing would be announced, a judicial inquiry would be ordered and the SP would be transferred out to a non-descript assignment.

The government of the day would survive the furore in the state assembly and business would go on as usual until the next time. The people who formed part of the mob and the people responsible for instigating them in the first place usually get away in the wider national interest (read cynical realpolitik). The police personnel involved in the incident would spend a few weeks in jail on murder charges, then come out on bail after ensuring a hearing from a ‘sympathetic’ judge, spend a few more months under suspension and then use political influence or money to be reinstated in service so that they and their families too can recover from the trauma and rebuild some semblance of a normal life. That the script hasn’t quite played out to the time-tested formula is an encouraging sign, although not for the families of the two lynched constables.

... contd.